‘The Powerpuff Girls’ Return On New Cartoon Network Special — Review

The girls are back! Read our review of the new ‘Powerpuff Girls’ special ‘Dance Pantsed.’

Once again, the day is saved thanks to the Powerpuff Girls — though this time around, things are a little different. More than eight years after the Craig McCracken series flew off into the sunset, The Powerpuff Girlsreturned Jan. 20 with an all-new, half-hour special, pitting the titular bug-eyed heroines against their arch nemesis in a heated battle of brains, brawn and sick dance moves.

‘The Powerpuff Girls’ Special: Mojo Jojo Wreaks Havoc On Townsville

Here’s what went down, in a nutshell: In an attempt to control the Powerpuff Girls for his own evil purposes, Mojo Jojo lured them in using the latest video game craze, Dance Pants Revolution. Sadly, the girls were too jazzed to realize it was actually Mojo‘s version of the game, Dance Pants R-EVIL-oution, and soon fell under Mojo’s control.

So who came to the girls’ aid in their time of monkey-related need? None other than the Professor, who was forced to revisit his street-dancing roots and challenge the Robo-puffs to an epic dance-off. Filling out the Professor’s team was the eternally faceless Ms. Bellum, and the eternally frustrated Mayor.

Visually, the hour-long special — officially titled “Dance Pantsed” — was nothing short of stunning. The traditional, simplistic animation was upgraded to a CG spectacle, with dazzling effects that put the entire series’ collective visuals to shame. The girls themselves received the biggest facelift of all, with slightly rougher edges and a much heavier animé influence.

That said, the girls’ return to our lives wasn’t completely seamless. Though all of the original voices were employed, there were too many out-of-character moments to overlook — particularly Buttercup’s apparent abandoning of her tough-girl exterior. With more temper tantrums and crying fits than I could even keep track of, the girls seemed a lot less mature than I remember them.

HollywoodLifers, what’s your take on the new Powerpuff Girls special? Did it do justice to the original series? Drop a comment with your review of “Dance Pantsed” below!